International law is an ever-evolving field of conflicting truths about the relationships that make our world — relationships between people, between people and states, between states and other states, between violence and peace, and between right and wrong. At the helm of this enterprise lies a group of brilliant, cunning and wise individuals that bear the unique duty and privilege of ruling on unprecedented questions of national jurisdiction, state sovereignty and international legality. This year’s first edition of the International Court of Justice will revisit Colombia v. Peru (1950), a dispute over diplomatic asylum. Following a political uprising, Colombia granted political asylum in its embassy in Peru to Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre, a Peruvian political leader wanted by Peruvian authorities. Peru argued that Colombia had interfered with its sovereignty and criminal jurisdiction by refusing to surrender Mr. de la Torre, while Colombia maintained that he had committed a political offense rather than a common crime and could therefore be granted diplomatic asylum. Delegates will explore the following two central questions: Does a state have the right to unilaterally decide if a person is a political refugee or a common criminal? Does the territorial state in response have the obligation under customary international law to grant the refugee safe exit out of the country?
